


Chicken Soup with Parsley

by Pajama_Han



Category: Smile For Me (Video Game)
Genre: But only a little, Fluff, Forehead Kisses, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Sickfic, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, just really sweet and nice
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-28
Updated: 2020-02-28
Packaged: 2021-02-28 00:15:55
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,835
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22944640
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Pajama_Han/pseuds/Pajama_Han
Summary: Kamal has come down with a cold, and his not-quite-boyfriend-yet comes over to save the day.
Relationships: Kamal Bora/Parsley Botch
Comments: 4
Kudos: 31





	Chicken Soup with Parsley

**Author's Note:**

> I've been meaning to write a Smile For Me fic for a while and I though a short fluffpiece would be the perfect way for me to dip my toes in. Also, i cannot get enough Kamal/Parsley content so... yeah! If you like this, please let me know with a kudos or comment, and let me know if I should write more sfm stuff! Thanks in advanced~

Kamal blinked his bleary, sleep-caked eyes open at the buzzing of his alarm, and he groaned as he felt how dry and sore his throat felt. Over the past few days, he could feel himself getting sick; the tell-tale sniffle here and there, a slight headache, and a tingle at the back of his throat. Kamal hoped he could skip this one, but it looks like it caught up to him. Kamal patted the nightstand for his phone and turned off the alarm. He had intended to do more job hunting today, and Parsley finally had a day off so they were supposed to go out for dinner and a movie tonight, but… Kamal coughed, which led to a near-gagging coughing fit. That wouldn’t be happening today. The man sighed and curled back up in his blankets, hoping to sleep just a little more. Maybe the illness would go away by the time he woke up. Maybe today wouldn’t be wasted…

-~- 

Kamal awoke to the sound of his front door unlocking and opening, and the jolt of fear he felt made his breathing catch and another coughing fit ensue. He wiped his mouth with the sleeve of his pajama shirt and got up, groaning at the pounding pain ringing through his head. Upon feeling a chill shudder through his body, he wrapped a comforter blanket around his shoulders. Kamal quietly left his bedroom and wandered down the hallway, having to breathe through his mouth since his nose was completely stuffed. Coming into the kitchen. Kamal huffed a breath of relief as he saw Parsley digging through his cupboard. There were also a few grocery bags on the counter.

“Parsley what are ya doing here?” Kamal asked, wincing, the words hurting his throat more.  
The red-haired man turned around and looked worriedly at Kamal, “Ah, I knew it. I could tell that you were getting a cold,” Parsley stood in front of the younger man and held the back of his hand to his forehead, “yikes, you’re burning up. What are you doing out of bed?”  
Kamal blinked in confusion, “What am I- What are YOU doing in my house?” He repeated, wincing as his throat stung.  
Parsley smiled gently, “I knew you were getting sick and I wanted to come over to help. Why don’t you go get cozy in bed or on the couch, I’ll bring you some stuff to help you feel better.”  
Kamal, too weak and in pain to disagree, nodded and wrapped his blanket tighter around his shoulders and made his way to the living room.

Kamal curled up with his knees to his chest and flicked the tv on to a random channel, mostly just for noise to distract from the sounds of Parsley in the kitchen. Kamal sighed and sniffed miserably. How awful was he? He and Parsley had only gone on two dates before, they tried to hold hands once but both of them chickened out. He wasn’t even sure if they could be classified as ‘dating’ let alone ‘boyfriends’, and yet here was dear, sweet Parsley. Using his one day off a week to take care of him without even being asked. Kamal’s head drooped. Yep. He was awful…

Kamal looked up as Parsley came into the room carrying a tray. He set it down on the coffee table and Kamal eyed the selection of items. First, there was a box of tissues, the super-soft ones with lotion; Kamal had never bought those, so Parsley must have brought them on his own. Next there was a bottle of cold medicine, the kind with both daytime and nighttime pills, along with a small cup of water. The final and most interesting item was a mug full of a golden, steaming liquid with a lemon slice floating at the top. Parsley picked up the tissue box and held it out to Kamal. The younger man took a few and blew his nose, the action only slightly helping clear his sinuses. He tossed it into the wastepaper basket under the coffee table.

“Thank you,” Kamal sniffed, still feeling bad about Parsley being here at all. Parsley picked up the mug and handed it to Kamal, who asked “What’s this?”  
“Tea, it's good for your throat. Drink up, I made it sweet for you.” Parsley sat on the couch’s armrest and smiled as Kamal took it and brought it to his mouth.  
Though he was still stuffy, Kamal could tell that this tea was extremely fragrant, and he could pick up the individual scents of chamomile, lemon, and honey. He sipped it gratefully, the warmth and honey soothing his throat. He smiled over the rim of the mug, “Thanks… I don’t know what I did to deserve this.”  
“Hush,” Parsley opened the box of medicine, “Would you like the daytime stuff or the nighttime stuff?”  
Kamal thought about it over another sip of tea, “Nighttime please, I could use a nap.” Two small blue tablets were dropped into his hand, and the warm mug of tea was replaced with the cup of cold water.

“I didn’t know what kind of medicine you normally use, so I just grabbed whatever. I hope it's okay.” Parsley shrugged as Kamal took the medicine, wincing at the cold water on his throat.  
Kamal smiled up at Parsley, “It’s fine, I usually get this kind, too.” he gladly took the tea again and drank deeply, feeling the various ingredients sooth his sinuses and throat, but did nothing to quell the upset in his mind. Kamal looked away and frowned, “I, uh, I hope ya know ya didn’t HAVE to come over to help me today. I’m sure you have better ways to spend your day off.”  
Parsley straightened up a bit and looked a bit nervous, “A-actually, I really didn’t. And besides, I want to help you. I…” He looked away and Kamal could see that his face was tinted pink, “I really care about you, Caramel.”  
Kamal’s face reddened both at the confession and the cute nickname. He set a hand on Parsley’s knee, making the lawyer jump slightly, and Kamal fought to not pull away, “I care about you too,” he rushed out, almost as one word, but he cleared his throat, pain momentarily lessened thanks to the tea, “I really do, and I hope you know that I wanna be there for you too. I-if you get sick or if you ever just wanna talk.” He smiled up, hoping he didn’t mess anything up.

Parsley said nothing back, just looked down at Kamal, his odd red eyes searching. Kamal sniffed and curled back up, looking down between his scrunched up knees instead of the lawyer sitting behind him, “I-I’m sorry. That was a lot. I’m definitely making this weird now.” He grit his teeth, internally scolding himself, _idiot, idiot, idiot!_

A warm pressure on his head.

Kamal blinked as he felt it. A… a kiss? Kamal slowly turned his head and Parsley pulled back, face still pink, but smiling. Kamal gave a shy smile back.  
Parsley gently pet Kamal’s hair, “Take a rest, Caramel, I’ll go make you some lunch.”  
The younger man nodded, anxiety quieted, and after finishing the mug of tea, he spread his legs out and fell into a nice nap.

-~-

When Kamal woke once more, he wasn’t as groggy as he was earlier. Maybe the medicine was working. He reached over to the tissue box on the coffee table and grabbed a few, sitting up again to blow his nose.  
“Sleep okay?” a voice came from the doorway and Kamal turned to see Parsley there, holding two bowls of something that smelled delicious.  
Kamal sat up and rubbed his eyes, “Yeah.” he tossed his used tissue into the basket and winced as he felt his throat twinge with pain.  
Parsley sat on the other side of the couch and handed him the bowl of soup, “I’ll make you some more tea after lunch. I hope you like this, it's my family’s special chicken soup recipe.”  
Kamal used his spoon to stir the broth, half-expecting some inedible object to rise to the surface, if Parsley’s stories about his father’s cooking were true. Thankfully, all that could be seen with a cursory glance through the soup were pieces of chicken, some carrots and onions, and farfalle pasta. Kamal brought a spoonful to his lips and blew on it, steam rising up and carrying the scent of chicken broth and parsley. The herb, of course.

Humming happily, Kamal let the soothing flavors and aroma relax him, and he heard the television’s volume increase slightly. He looked to see Parsley with the remote, and he smiled as the lawyer changed the channel to an old Judge Judy rerun.  
“Really?” Kamal laughed and Parsley had to laugh along with him.  
“What? It’s a good show!” Parsley held the remote to Kamal, “If you want to watch something else, we can.”  
Kamal shook his head and had another spoonful of soup, “Nah, this is good.” He relaxed and watched the show, smiling whenever Parsley interjected his own thoughts about the current hearing. At some point, he found himself watching Parsley more than the television, and at some point, the lawyer noticed.  
“Heh, what are you looking at, Caramel?” he asked, cheeks a little pink again.

Kamal fought the urge to clam up again and instead he smiled sincerely at Parsley, albeit with a serious blush, “I just like hearing you get passionate about stuff,” he sniffled, “I really like spending time with you, Pars’.”  
Parsley’s face lit up and he smiled softly, “You know, the case I’m working with is almost done. I should have more free time the week after next.” he shrugged, “Maybe I can treat you to a better date than Judge Judy reruns and chicken soup.”  
Kamal felt his heart swell with unparallelled affection. He laughed, coughing a bit from it, “God, if I wasn’t sick, I would definitely want to cuddle with you right now.”  
“Really?” Parsley asked, a bit too eager at the prospect, but he caught himself and cleared his throat, “well, uh, if you're worried about me getting sick, I think my immune system is strong enough to endure a little cuddling.” he explained, face red.  
“You sure?” Kamal checked, setting his empty soup bowl aside.  
Parsley set his own bowl on the coffee table and huffed out a laugh, “I mean, yeah. My dad once made me food with dirty bolts left around a carnival, after all. You work up an immunity to some stuff, Caramel.” Parsley laid back into the couch cushions a bit and spread his arms.

Kamal smiled and swivelled around so he could rest his head on Parsley’s chest. It was warm, and it was absolutely _perfect_ when Parsley wrapped his arms around him.  
“Is this okay?” the lawyer asked.  
Kamal nuzzled into Parsley's embrace with a gentle smile and could feel himself nearly drift off to sleep again, “Better than okay.”


End file.
